Monday 5 October 2015

Krampus - The Reckoning


From director Robert Conway (The Encounter) comes the most frightening film of the festive season. Meet Santa’s dark companion in Krampus: The Reckoning, gift-wrapped with fear this November 3 from Uncork’d Entertainment.

Zoe is a strange little girl, with a not so imaginary friend the Krampus who is the dark companion of kindly old St. Nicholas. The Krampus has been unleashed upon a small town and the legendary demon will seek out all the naughty people to punish them at Christmas time. No one is safe as the Krampus hunts them down, tortures them and then drags their helpless souls to the depths of hell.

Krampus : The Reckoning is out on DVD and Digital November 3.

Friday 2 October 2015

FILM NEWS (UK): Film4 FrightFest announces line-up for Halloween 2015 event

James Purefoy and Olga Kurylenko lead guest line-up

A totally shocking threequel, a haunted house of horrors, demonic possession, claustrophobic tank terror, a head-spinning brutal thriller and a surprise movie…it can only be the Film4 FrightFest Halloween event, which is back at the Prince Charles Cinema on Saturday 24 Oct with six brand new movies, including two World premieres, a European and two UK premieres.

This year’s Shockathon kicks off at 11am with the surprise movies which guarantees a sci-fi cocktail of weird creatures, crude humour and hilarious action. Next up is the UK Premiere of THE VATICAN TAPES, a dynamic, unusual and thrilling exorcism shocker by Crank director Mark Neveldine. This is followed by the World Premiere of THE UNSPOKEN, a chill-orientated sinister ghost story with an insidious sting in its tale. Kicking of the evening with a massive jolt of brutal energy is the UK premiere of MOMENTUM, a break-neck, nerve-shredding violent thriller starring a stand-out Olga Kurylenko & James Purefoy. Our second World Premiere is BELLY OF THE BULLDOG, directed by Nick Gillespie, whose past short films have been shown at FrightFest to great acclaim. We are delighted to welcome him back for his feature genre debut. To complete the line-up prepare yourselves for twists galore, horrific jolts and seat-edged suspense with the European Premiere of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE III: VENGEANCE IS MINE, which whole-heartedly retains the stunning shock impact of the entire controversial series.

Guests attending include MOMENTUM stars James Purefoy (The Following) and Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) and from BELLY OF THE BULLDOG, director Nick Giilespie plus key cast, to be announced later.

Plus, we’ll be showing two fantastic shorts, THE CHICKENING, a poultry-infused remix of The Shining, directed by Nick DenBoar & Davy Force and THE PACKAGE, starring Dan Palmer (Stalled) & Tom Gordon. And of course there will be intros, Q & A’s, give-aways and a few special surprises…

Alan Jones, co-director, said today: “Enough with the after dark jitters, caffeine fixes and trying to stay awake through the last movie. FrightFest is always ahead of the curve when it comes to redefining event experiences so here’s our latest innovation. All before midnight you’ll delight in fright with six of the must-see movies of the moment. Carefully selected by the FrightFest team of experts to show exactly where the genre is right now, these six nightmares before Christmas are tales of Halloween you just have to witness”.

Passes for the London event cost £45 and go on sale from Saturday 3 October. To book go online http://www.princecharlescinema.com/events/events.php?seasonanchor=zxy123
or call the Prince Charles Cinema on 0207 494 3654
Passes can also be bought at the cinema

FULL LINE UP:
11:00 SURPRISE MOVIE

12:55 THE VATICAN TAPES (UK Premiere)

A concerned priest, two Vatican exorcists and the distraught father of a young girl battle to save her soul after she expresses increasingly erratic and strange behaviour. It soon becomes clear that Angela has been taken over by an ancient satanic force and that she must be quickly purged of evil. But what nobody knows is that the spiritual crusade is not just for Angela - it’s for the entire world as humanity knows it.

Director: Mark Neveldine. Cast: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Michael Peña, Dougray Scott, Djimon Hounsou, Peter Andersson. USA 2015. 91 mins.

15:00 THE UNSPOKEN (World Premiere)

In 1997 the close-knit Anderson family vanished from their home without a trace. No bodies were ever found and no explanation satisfied curiosity. For 17 years the house has remained undisturbed...until now. This eerily expert frightener is further enlivened by terrific performances from ‘Suits’/’Arrow’ star Neal McDonough and SILENT HILL/THE TALL MAN/TIDELAND’s Jodelle Ferland.

Director: Sheldon Wilson. Cast: Jodelle Ferland, Sunny Suljic, Neal McDonough, Jessie Fraser, Jonathan Whitesell. Canada 2015. 90 mins.

17:30 MOMENTUM (UK Premiere)

Clint Eastwood’s go-to cameraman Stephen S. Campanelli turns skilled first-time director with this BOURNE style thriller done with panache and witty super-slick suspense. From its attention-grabbing futuristic bank heist opening to exciting airport chase finale, the breathless cat-and-mouse action never stops as CIA assassin James Purefoy relentlessly tracks glamorous jewel thief Olga Kurylenko for a stolen computer hard drive implicating corrupt senator Morgan Freeman in a terrorist plot. Kurylenko is terrific as the criminal mastermind enduring torture with a smile and inventively avoiding Purefoy’s gleefully evil sadist.

Director: Stephen S. Campanelli. Cast: Olga Kurylenko, James Purefoy, Morgan Freeman, Karl Thaning, Dylan Edy. USA/South Africa 2015. 96 mins.

19:45 BELLY OF THE BULLDOG (World Premiere)

With nowhere else to hide, a group of mercenaries and their prisoners take cover inside a long abandoned Bulldog tank. But, while they try to keep the forces outside at bay, the real enemy is already among them, locked inside the belly of the Bulldog. After collaborating closely with Ben Wheatley on FREE FIRE, HIGH-RISE, A FIELD IN ENGLAND and KILL LIST, Director Nick Gillespie makes his feature genre debut.

Director: Nick Gillespie. Cast: Rupert Evans, Deirdre Mullins, Michael Smiley, April Pearson, Gordon Kennedy. UK 2015. 84 mins.

22:15 I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE III: VENGEANCE IS MINE (European Premiere)

After her harrowing experiences in 2010, Jennifer Hills has taken the name Angela and is now working in an anonymous office job. Attending a rape support group to find closure, she meets feisty Maria Finch and they become firm friends. Then Maria suggests Angela join her in taking revenge by proxy on the abusers they hear about in their secret sessions…This superior sequel is genuinely surprising, consistently gripping, smartly written and brilliantly acted.

Director: R.D. Braunstein. Cast: Sarah Butler, Jennifer Landon, Gabriel Hogan, Doug McKeon, Karen Strassman. USA 2015. 87 mins.

Thursday 1 October 2015

Competition: Win Metal Hurlant: Resurgence on Bluray

Metal Hurlant: Resurgence is a must see for science-fiction and fantasy fans – a gripping adventure that spans time and space!

As the remains of a blazing asteroid travels across the universe, six adventures are uncovered which herald danger at every turn. Starring (Scott Adkins, The Bourne Ultimatum, Zero Dark Thirty), Michael Jai White (The Dark Knight), Michelle Lee (Pacific Rim, The Pirates of the Caribbean series) and John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), The Metal Hurlant heroes are back.

Metal Hurlant: Resurgence is available on Digital, DVD and Blu-ray from October 19th.

To support the release we have a copy on Blu-ray to give away!

Win This:
Metal Hurlant Resurgence: Season Two [Blu-Ray] (Amazon Link)

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...

Competition Closed

Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Monday 28 September 2015

Competition: Win The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season on Bluray

To celebrate the release of The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season on Bluray and DVD we have got a great competition for you and a couple of copies on blu-ray to give away!


Synopsis
Rick and the group are outnumbered, outgunned and awaiting to discover their fate at the hands of their captors at Terminus.  Are these survivors over-precautious new friends or an unnerving new foe? No matter the result, the group now know more than ever they will need to fight the living if they wish to survive in the world of the dead.



The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season is available now on Blu-ray and DVD, courtesy of Entertainment One



Win This:
The Walking Dead - Season 5 [Blu-ray] [2015] (Amazon Link)

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...

Competition Closed

Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Friday 25 September 2015

Competition: Win a copy of WER on DVD

Win a copy of WER on DVD!

Unleash the animal inside with this 21st century twist on the werewolf!

When something slaughters a family camping in the French countryside, the freakishly large and powerful Talan Gwynek (Brian Scott O’Connor) is arrested for the crime.

While as his public defender Kate (A.J. Cook) argues his case, she begins to suspect he’s suffering from a rare medical condition that causes physical abnormalities. But as they begin the tests, Kate discovers his truth is far more monstrous that she ever imagined…

WER is out on DVD from 19th October 2015.

Win This:
Wer [DVD]    (Amazon Link)

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...
Competition Closed

Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Competition: Win a copy of The Enfield Haunting on DVD

The Returned meets The Missing in this critically acclaimed, must-see supernatural horror!

In a seemingly normal house in Enfield, north London, a series of disturbing paranormal events have begun to take place. Reports of an unworldly presence making repeated attempts on the life of 11-year-old Janet Hodgson soon attract the attention of paranormal investigator Maurice Grosse (Timothy Spall) who is convinced that the house is plagued by a poltergeist. With the attacks growing increasingly violent by the day Maurice will stop at nothing to protect Janet from these strange and dark forces.

Chilling and terrifying, The Enfield Haunting is the unmissable true story of the most documented and shocking poltergeist incident in modern history.

The Enfield Haunting is out on DVD from 31st August 2015

Win This:
The Enfield Haunting [DVD]
 
To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...

Competition Closed

Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

FILM NEWS (UK): New sci-fi thriller feature from Johnny Kevorkian goes into production


AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS, a darkly monstrous tale of tyranny and television, will start a five-week shoot on Oct 5 at GSP Studios’ studio facilities in York.

Produced by Jack Tarling of Shudder Films and Alan Latham of GSP Studios and directed by Johnny Kevorkian (The Disappeared) from a screenplay by Gavin Williams, the cast includes David Bradley (Games of Thrones), Sam Gittins (The Smoke), Holly Weston (Howl), Kris Saddler (The Hour), Neerja Naik (Hackney’s Finest) & Grant Masters (Silent Witness). Key crew members include: Annika Summerson (DOP), Nina Topp (Production Designer), Dan Martin (Special Effects) & Ben Louden (VFX).

It's Christmas Day and the Milgram family wake to find a mysterious black substance surrounding their house. Something monumental is clearly happening right outside their door, but what exactly - an industrial accident, a terrorist attack, nuclear war?

Descending into terrified arguments, they turn on the television, desperate for any information. On screen a message glows ominously: 'Stay Indoors and Await Further Instructions'. As the television exerts an ever more sinister grip, their paranoia escalates into bloody carnage.

Kevorkian commented: “I want to create a pressure cooker atmosphere, which ultimately explodes on screen! By the end of the film we’ll be shooting mostly handheld, really ramping up the pace with lots of camera moves to create an unstoppable climax to match the extreme situation”.

The film has been further developed with the support of public agencies Northern Film + Media and Digital City Innovations. Film London facilitated financing and Creative England have backed the development of marketing strategies for the film.

Beyond Science. Beyond Sanity.

Wednesday 23 September 2015

Film News (UK): Horror Channel treats viewers to Haunted Halloween Season


All treats and no tricks…Horror Channel celebrates Halloween with a special HAUNTED HALLOWEEN SEASON, a spectral selection of movies which will take possession of the nation’s TVs every night for two weeks in October - from Saturday 17th to Saturday 31st, 9pm.

Here is the full line-up:

Sat 17 Oct @ 9pm - AN AMERICAN HAUNTING (2005) *Network Premiere

The wind whispers ominous warnings of death before a malevolent entity arrives to claim the life of a young girl as director/writer Courtney Solomon brings author Brent Monahan's chilling, fact-based story of supernatural murder to the screen in this tale of terror starring Donald Sutherland, Sissy Spacek & James D’Arcy.

Sun 18 Oct @ 9pm – DARK SUMMER (2015) *UK TV Premiere

From Paul Solet, director of the acclaimed hit Grace, comes a suspense thriller focusing on a 17-year-old boy, Daniel, on house arrest for stalking, Mona, a female classmate online.  He thinks he has piggybacked his neighbours' wireless signal but then things start to happen and feels a strange presence in the house.

Fri 23 Oct @ 9pm - STIR OF ECHOS: THE HOMECOMING (2007) *Network Premiere

This sequel features Rob Lowe as National Guard Captain Ted Cogan, an Iraq War veteran whose past comes back to haunt him. After returning home from the line of duty, Cogan’s notion of his life returning back to normal is scuppered when he has visions of a group of innocent bystanders he inadvertently killed in Iraq.


Sat 24 Oct @ 9pm – AMITYVILLE 3 (1983) – Network Premiere

Investigative reporter John Baxter (Tony Roberts) buys a notorious house in the Long Island suburb of Amityville in an attempt to prove that stories about its being inhabited by demons are fraudulent. But soon his daughter, Susan (Lori Loughlin), and her friend Lisa (Meg Ryan) are experiencing inexplicable terrors, while his estranged wife, Nancy (Tess Harper), and supernatural expert Elliot West (Robert Joy) fear that the evil has begun to spread outside the house's walls.

Sat 31 Oct @ 9pm – THE POSSESSION (2012) – UK TV Premiere

When their youngest daughter, Em (Natasha Calis), becomes strangely obsessed with an antique wooden box, parents Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Stephanie (Kyra Sedgwick) see little cause for alarm. However, Em becomes increasingly unstable, leading the couple to fear the presence of a malevolent force. To their horror, Clyde and Stephanie learn that the box contains a dybbuk, a dislocated spirit that inhabits, and ultimately devours, a human host.

Plus:
Mon 19 Oct, 9pm - GRAVE ENCOUNTERS (2011)
Tues 20 Oct, 9pm - CASSADAGA (2011)
Wed 21 Oct, 9pm - THE ABANDONED (2006)
Thurs 22 Oct, 9pm - STIR OF ECHOS (1999)
Sun 25 Oct, 9pm – HAUNTED (1995)
Mon 26 Oct, 9pm - FORGET ME NOT (2009)
Tues 27 Oct, 9pm - THE TATTOOIST (2007)
Wed 28 Oct, 9pm - THE TORMENT (2010)
Thurs 29 Oct, 9pm – SOLSTICE (2008)
Fri 29 Oct, 9pm – GRAVE HALLOWEEN (2013)

There are also a further two UK premieres and five Network premieres, including the network premieres of Nicolas Roeg’s classic DON’T LOOK NOW (Sun Oct 4, 9pm) and John Carpenter’s devilishly original PRINCE OF DARKNESS (Fri 9 Oct, 9pm) and the UK premieres of Blair Erickson’s mind-altering BANSHEE CHAPTER (Fri 16 Oct, 9pm)  and Conor McMahon’s evil-fuelled FROM THE DARK (Fri 30 Oct, 10.55pm).

TV: Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138 | Freeview 70

www.horrorchannel.co.uk | twitter.com/horror_channel

Monday 14 September 2015

Competition: Win Possessed By Evil on DVD

Possessed By Evil is out on DVD on the 21st September, and to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies to win on DVD

Synopsis:
Joanna and Ben both have successful careers and a happy marriage. But the one thing they are eager for is a child to call their own. When the prospect of adoption is no longer an option, they are presented with an opportunity to bring home a little girl named Piper Rose on questionable legal terms.

Welcoming Piper into their family their uncertainty is put to rest until strange, inexplicable events begin to happen around her. Could it be possible that little Piper is connected to a dark force or is there something more sinister behind her cute, angelic face?

A blood-chilling ghost story with more surprises than the dark, Possessed by Evil gives a new and terrifying meaning to the word family.

Win This:
Possessed By Evil [DVD] 

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...

Competition Closed

Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Friday 11 September 2015

FrightFest Presents & Icon announce further titles

Icon Film Distribution (IFD) and FrightFest, the UK’s leading horror fantasy film festival, have announced a further three films which will be released under the curated banner ‘FrightFest Presents’.

The new titles are;

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB, directed by Kyle Rankin starring Maria Thayer (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Michael Cassidy (Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice), Christopher Marquette (Just Friends, The Girl Next Door) and Ray Wise (Infestation, Twin Peaks).

After a girls' night out, endearingly awkward Deb wakes up in the apartment of the most attractive guy in Portland, Maine. She's thrilled, but can't remember much of what got her there. Ryan only knows it was a mistake, and ushers her out the door into a full-scale zombie apocalypse. Now, a walk of shame becomes a fight for survival as the mismatched pair discovers that the only thing scarier than trusting someone with your life... is trusting them with your heart.

SOME KIND OF HATE, directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer starring Ronen Rubenstein (It Felt Like Love), Sierra McCormick (Disney’s ‘’Ant Farm’’), Grace Phipps (Fright Night, Tales of Halloween), Noah Segan (Starry Eyes, Looper), Lexi Atkins (Ted2, The Boy Next Door, Zombeavers), Spencer Breslin (The Happening, The Kid), Michael Polish (The Astronaut Farmer)

When a troubled teen is subjected to severe bullying, he accidentally conjures Moira Karp. Once a teenage girl pushed to suicide, Moira is now an unstoppable force on a mission of gruesome retribution. But when she goes too far, he must prevent her from spiraling out of control in this passionate and vividly supernatural thriller.

Some Kind of Hate is being sold for International by Devilworks.

LAST GIRL STANDING, written and directed by Benjamin R Moody starring Akasha Villalobos (Where the Red Fox Lies), Danielle Evon Ploeger and Brian Villalobos.

Five years ago, a masked killer brutally murdered a group of friends. Since then, Camryn (Akasha Villalobos), the lone survivor, has struggled to reclaim her shattered life. Wracked with guilt and paranoia, Camryn leads a depressingly lonely existence until Nick (Brian Villalobos), a new co-worker, befriends Camryn and attempts to integrate her into his group of friends. Just when she might be ready to start a new life, Camryn’s past comes back to haunt her. Can Camryn ever have a life again, or is she destined to be alone?

All three titles recently had their UK theatrical premieres at the FrightFest five day festival at the Vue Leicester Square.

The exclusive Icon and FrightFest partnership, first announced in April, will see titles released across the UK and Ireland via the distributor’s digital partners (including  iTunes, Virgin Movies, Sky, Google  Amazon, Xbox , Blinkbox, Google, Wuaki, TalkTalk and Volta) giving film fans instant access to some of their favourite FrightFest titles.

‘FrightFest Presents’ launches officially on 19 October with a consumer campaign pushing out from the beginning of the month. Each release has the collective backing of IFD and FrightFest across all marketing, PR and social channels.

Previously announced titles include AAAAAAAAH!, THE SAND, AFTERDEATH, LANDMINE GOES CLICK, EMELIE, THE LESSON and ESTRANGED.

Since FrightFest was set up 15 years ago, it has grown in size and stature, and is today internationally renowned for discovering exciting and original horror fantasy genre films.   Last August, the festival screened 74 of the best horror films from around the world to UK audiences, with many world and European premieres. Over the years the festival directors, Greg Day, Alan Jones, Paul McEvoy and Ian Rattray, have also brought masters of the genre to the festival including Guillermo del Toro, George Romero, Dario Argento and Sam Raimi. FrightFest has developed into a brand leader for horror film, expanding its footprint in the UK by hosting special strands at other festivals to great success, such as the recent three-day event at the Glasgow Film Festival.

IFD has a longstanding track record in releasing genre films, from breakout hit PARANORMAL ACTIVITY which grossed a phenomenal £10 million at the UK box office to the cult vampire thriller 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, as well as re-issues of classic Hammer titles including DRACULA and THE MUMMY.  Most recently, IFD released the critical and box office hits IT FOLLOWS and THE BABADOOK, Jennifer Kent’s psychological horror story, which burst out of FrightFest’s August festival to become one of the most talked about horrors of 2014.